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Four Jamaicans appointed to Caribbean Artificial Intelligence Task Force

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Christopher Reckord (Photo: Betting, Gaming & Lotteries Commission)

September 12, 2025





KINGSTON, Jamaica — Four Jamaicans have been appointed to serve on the newly established Caribbean Artificial Intelligence Task Force.

The appointees are Christopher Reckord, Dr Sean Thorpe, Cordel Green and Deidre Cousins.

 Reckord is a seasoned technology entrepreneur, consultant, and advisor with nearly four decades of experience in business strategy execution, digital transformation, cybersecurity, and data protection.

He is the chairman of Jamaica’s National Artificial Intelligence Task Force, deputy chairman of the ICT Authority (formerly eGov Jamaica), deputy chairman of the National Identification & Registration Authority (NIRA), and deputy chairman of the newly formed Caribbean AI Task Force.

 Reckord is the former CEO of tTech Limited, the first managed IT services company listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, and co-founder of Innovative Corporate Solutions, where his leadership helped to shape Jamaica’s technology services landscape. He holds a foundation in industrial education and an MBA from Barry University, along with executive education in high impact leadership from Columbia Business School.

 Beyond technology, Reckord is also widely recognised as Jamaica’s preeminent wine expert, having authored more than 500 articles for the Jamaica Observer. He is the co-author of Successful Digital Transformation – Your World, Your Business, Your Life … reimagined and serves as a justice of the peace while contributing to several government and private sector boards.

Dr Sean Thorpe is the dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Computing at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech). He was the first person to earn a PhD in information security at UTech and has since become a leading researcher in areas such as cloud computing, digital forensics, green computing, and information security.

Dr Thorpe has published books and numerous articles, serves as a mentor for young computing professionals, and has held leadership roles in organisations such as the Jamaica Computer Society.

Cordel Green is an attorney-at-law and the executive director of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, the regulatory body overseeing radio, television, and cable services.

A former assistant attorney-general and broadcaster, Green is also vice-chair of UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP) and chair of its Working Group on Information Accessibility. A Chevening Scholar, he holds degrees from the University of the West Indies, the University of Sheffield (UK), and the Mona School of Business, as well as executive training from Harvard Kennedy School. His work has advanced digital television switchover policy and information ethics across the region.

Deidre Jonelle Cousins is a seasoned technology executive, entrepreneur, and board director with over 20 years of leadership experience spanning public and private sectors. She is the chief information officer at GraceKennedy Limited, a billion-dollar international conglomerate headquartered in Jamaica. She is also chair of the IT Council and the Group AI Governance Committee at GraceKennedy, where she leads enterprise AI governance, cybersecurity, and digital transformation strategy.

Deidre’s expertise spans IT audit, risk management, cybersecurity, data privacy, and large-scale transformation projects, including ERP implementations such as SAP.

She also serves on the board of directors of the GraceKennedy Foundation, where she advances education, the environment, and healthy lifestyles.

Recognised with multiple awards for her outstanding contributions, she is also a member of global leadership networks such as T200 and the World 50 Organisation.

Beyond her professional achievements, she is deeply committed to mentorship, youth development, and initiatives such as a Girls in Tech Network that supports and inspires young women interested in technology.

The Caribbean AI Task Force is a regional initiative established by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) to guide the ethical, inclusive, and responsible development of Artificial Intelligence throughout the Caribbean.

Its mandate includes: harmonising AI policies and regulatory frameworks across Caribbean countries to foster legal certainty and interoperability, building regional AI capacity and talent, especially among youth, women, and traditionally underrepresented communities, promoting inclusive and ethical AI practices to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, fostering cross-sector collaboration and innovation, bringing together government, academia, private sector, and civil society stakeholders.

The task force is expected to deliver model legislation, policy recommendations, and support pilot projects that demonstrate the value of AI in sustainable development and regional growth.

“The CTU is pleased to announce that Dr Craig Ramlal has been appointed chair of the CTU Caribbean AI Task Force. Dr Ramlal is a distinguished academic, AI researcher and head of the Control Systems Group in Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. He was recognised by the United Nations as one of 39 preeminent AI leaders for his expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning theory and applications for Caribbean development. Dr Ramlal is also a leading advocate for the ethical and responsible use of digital technologies across the region,” said the CTU.






{“jamaica-observer”:”Jamaica Observer”}





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The Role Of AI In Enhancing Online Gaming Engagement

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This content was produced in partnership with VegasSlotsOnline.

Artificial intelligence is really revolutionizing the online gaming landscape by providing personalized solutions to consumers. Precision-based platforms are now personalizing gaming worlds based on personal choice without compromising regulatory mechanisms or consumer safety.

Machine learning innovations are really beginning to imprint virtual entertainment and gaming. Personalized recommendations, dynamic UI and risk management tools are commonplace in contemporary casino systems. Insights gleaned from user behavior are helping to optimize engagement plans, delivering safer and more enjoyable experiences.

The emergence of personalization through AI in internet gaming

Building sophisticated AI models has enabled a better understanding of behavior patterns. Sites examine a set of session lengths, game picks, stakes and timing of interaction to create individual profiles. Such profiles inform dynamic interfaces, which do not employ blanket templates. Interfaces are dynamic, presenting game offers of a comparable mechanic or styling preference in a non-intrusive manner. Suggestions can be variant slot themes, table game variants or even timing recommendations by peaks of historical activity. Such subtle refinements ensure that players are presented with experiences related to their interests, minimizing friction while navigating and providing variety. Implementing such models can increase user satisfaction within retention constraints appropriate for playing enjoyment and regulatory obligations, clearing the ground for even more innovative responsible gaming tools that adapt in sync with emerging behaviors.

Blending affordability with individualization

Price sensitivity indices are integrated into tailored systems. As a potential illustration, a website can identify frugal tendencies and thus emphasize low-risk headlines. This is especially true with minimum deposit online casinos, where minimum deposit limits are set low to facilitate access without compromise on disciplined usage. Artificial intelligence systems can subtly direct players towards options that allow spending, which may be monitored and sanction enjoyment in the same breath. Budget-sensitive audience groups can be given low-variance/volatility game lists, allowing for a customized experience mindful of their wallet and desire to play frequently. In the long term, this generates a sustainable cycle of engagement, where entertainment becomes a frequent, low-stakes activity rather than a rare, high-stakes event, such that affordability and personalization work in conjunction to construct a balanced virtual gaming sphere.

Increasing engagement via intelligent content distribution

Artificially intelligent content distribution systems respond on a discrete, granular basis to the preferences demonstrated by the user. Recommendations that refresh with shifts in behavior, such as increased use of evenings on live dealers or non-standard access on weekends for table games, cause refreshes in content viewing. Instead of static lists, casino lobbies offer individualized menus that are streamlined to focus on probable areas of interest. Display banners and graphic composition become less general, focusing instead on relevance and context. Such improvements make a better end-user experience possible, reducing time spent navigating and money spent interacting with games and better aligning individual taste profiles. In the long term, such responsiveness also helps identify subtle changes in engagement, allowing platforms to introduce new titles or features at points of most significant interest while gradually retiring less relevant ones, thereby producing a better, more dynamic relationship between platform design and user behavior.

Striking a balance with responsible play

AI systems are not merely crafted to engage optimally; there are plans for responsible gaming. Frequency, session length or increase in stakes deviating from patterns of regularity are tracked by detection algorithms, which raise alerts or nudges that cause self-awareness. When threshold levels are crossed, soft messages reminding of breaks taken or activity review are provided. Adaptive deposit limits can also be activated, where stakes are established based on past behavior and safety limits are defined. Focusing on player welfare averts personalization from turning into remorse-causing over-engagement and, on a related note, puts regulators’ minds at ease knowing safety is paramount. In the long term, such systems can evolve into forward-looking buddies, offering supporting tools like summaries of playing, spending dashboards or voluntary pauses, such that entertainment is complemented by accountability.

Regulatory and privacy concerns

Personalization elements must operate within a framework of data protection and compliance. Regulators examine player data usage, calling on platforms to clarify how behavioral analytics affect platform presentation. Platforms must include precise opt-out mechanisms for personalization elements and collection procedures must comply with privacy guidelines. Anonymization and data minimization are standard practices within the industry, ensuring that AI models learn patterns without holding personally identifiable information. Responsible vendors must utilize personalization algorithms to provide audit and transparency, demonstrating that the recommendations are not exploitative or unfairly nudging users towards higher spending.

Artificial intelligence-powered personalization represents a paradigm shift in video gaming, transitioning from static interfaces to dynamic, context-sensitive worlds. Personalized content streaming, dynamic recommendation and risk/benefit tailoring define a new norm of player-centric experience. The deployment of such technology fosters engagement that aligns with personal preferences and boundaries, strengthening a healthier bond between users and platforms.

Although AI introduces advanced opportunities for personalization, ongoing attention must focus on ethics, fairness and regulatory alignment. Transparency about algorithmic functionality, robust safeguards against over-entitlement and accessible user controls remain essential. Successful integration occurs when gaming platforms balance enjoyment, trust and safety, ensuring that personalization supports rather than undermines player well-being.

If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.





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AI bills in Michigan House follow heavy-handed and punitive regulatory approach – Mackinac Center

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Newly proposed legislation in Michigan would impose burdensome requirements on artificial intelligence systems. The predictable impact from these proposed laws would be to drive AI development out of the state, likely to China or other Asian economies.

House Bill No. 4667 would create new felony offenses and mandatory prison sentences for the criminal use, development, or distribution of AI systems. House Bill No. 4668 would require AI developers in Michigan to conduct regular risk assessments and third-party audits, as well as implement and publicly disclose safety protocols. Both bills were introduced by Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport. HB 4668 has been referred to the House Communications and Technology Committee. HB 4667 has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee.

A notable feature of HB 4667 is that it would establish an absurdly broad definition of AI as “any machine-based system that can process data, generate content, or simulate human-like interactions, including, but not limited to, chatbots, voice assistants, generative AI models, and automated decision-making tools.” By this definition, basic spreadsheet sort functions would qualify as an AI system. So would routine business marketing analytics, and almost any customer profiling using a computer. Many small business owners have no idea that when they maintain and sort routine customer data in their Excel spreadsheet, they are using “AI.” Yet if they are prosecuted for a separate offense, even a minor violation, they could face a mandatory eight-year prison sentence when the prosecutor adds a violation of HB 4667 to the charges.

An overly broad definition of AI combined with heavy-handed regulations “could inadvertently impose stringent regulatory obligations on common practices that have minimal, if any, adverse impacts on consumer welfare or privacy interests,” according to a recent article by the International Center for Law and Economics. “Small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, would face significant uncertainty and disproportionately high compliance burdens,” it said. “Indeed, smaller firms already rely heavily on low-risk AI applications to boost productivity and maintain competitiveness in an increasingly technology-driven marketplace.”

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has concerns, too. “While Michigan HB 4668 is well-intentioned in seeking to address real concerns around AI misuse, it places overly burdensome and impractical requirements on developers. The MI Chamber emphasized that rather than having individual states pass their own AI regulations — risking a patchwork of conflicting and duplicative rules across the country — this issue should be addressed through federal legislation.”

These bills create penalties for things are already illegal. Frauds, scams, defamation, illegal discrimination, and anti-competitive business conduct violate the law regardless of whether AI was used in the process. Thus, it is not clear how victims of illegal conduct will benefit from these proposed AI laws. One group that would benefit greatly, though, is trial attorney bar. Some attorneys would reap new business opportunities by defending clients against prosecutions under HB 4667. Others would gain by bringing class action lawsuits for failing to comply with all the new regulatory requirements under HB 4668, which would apply regardless of whether anyone is actually harmed.

HB 4667 and 4668 follow the regulatory approach of President Joe Biden’s much-criticized 2023 AI executive order, which in the words of analyst Kristin Stout, “sees dangers around every virtual corner” and imposes “regulations born of fear [that] threaten to derail beneficial innovation.” The Biden AI executive order states that the administration “places the highest urgency on governing the development and use of AI safely and responsibly.” President Donald Trump rejected this kind of government-directed approach to AI development when he repealed the Biden AI executive order in his first week in office.

On July 23, Trump issued his own AI executive order, “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan.” The new executive order stresses that cybersecurity, technological innovation, and infrastructure construction are not opposing or wholly separate efforts, but rather complementary objectives to be achieved in tandem. The proposed Michigan laws, by contrast, fail to take into account the importance of promoting technological innovation. Instead, they focus solely on imposing regulatory restrictions and punitive punishments.

American companies are already struggling with excessive state and local mandates, dubbed the “Sacramento Effect” for California’s misadventures in regulating AI. This places our most innovative companies at a competitive disadvantage with foreign competitors and undercuts efforts to stay ahead of China in the race for AI supremacy. HB 4667 and 4668 would add an unwelcome “Lansing Effect” to the most innovative companies in Michigan and give them an incentive to relocate to a more welcoming state, or even another country.




Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.





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AT&T Exec on Why AI, 5G Are Critical to IC

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The intelligence community requires not just artificial intelligence, but reliable 5G connectivity to maintain its strategic advantage against adversaries, according to Jill Singer, vice president of national security for AT&T and an eight-time Wash100 Award winner.

In an article posted on the AT&T website, Singer said AI and 5G implementation within the IC is no longer optional but mission essential.

Singer will take the stage alongside intelligence community leaders at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Intel Summit on Oct. 2. She will serve as moderator in a panel about the role of artificial intelligence in supporting the IC mission. AT&T is also a platinum sponsor of the highly anticipated government contracting event. Secure your tickets today.

Why 5G is Crucial in AI Implementation

AI is capable of ingesting and processing complex data sets from various sources, including satellite imagery and signals intelligence, and then turning information into actionable insights. The technology also powers autonomous systems and unmanned platforms operating in high-risk environments, allowing personnel to carry out missions from a safe distance.

Singer explained that, to reap the benefits of AI, the IC needs an infrastructure that delivers the speed, capacity and reliability that the technology needs for real-time data exchange. She pointed out that 5G networks offer ultra-low latency connectivity, higher bandwidth and network slicing capabilities that would facilitate the seamless flow of data between AI-enhanced sensors, devices and platforms.

The executive also shared that 5G connects assets on land, sea, air or space and supports computing on the tactical edge.

Why AT&T

In the article, Singer highlighted AT&T’s 5G offering to support the employment of AI for IC missions.

She shared that the company’s communications network is equipped with encryption, zero-trust architectures and multi-factor authentication to protect sensitive data. The company also uses AI at its 24/7 Security Operations Centers to monitor network activity and identify and respond to threats, the executive added.

Moreover, Singer noted AT&T’s decades of experience supporting missions.

“Our professionals are leaders in secure networks, AI and 5G innovation,” she said. “Through close relationships with government agencies, technology providers, and research institutions, we co-develop and implement solutions tailored to the IC’s unique needs.”





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